"For building up milk production, go to bed with the baby for 24 hours. Mother should wear only panties, baby only a diaper. A tray with fluids, magazines and flowers beside the bed for the mother and all diaper changing needs for the baby close at hand. Another adult woman in the house brings meals to the mother. After 24 hours of this bed rest, the milk will be abundant. (I’ve had one client who said it didn’t work. When I went through what she had done, it turned out that instead of following these instructions exactly, she went to her cousin’s place for the day and lay on her couch.) No, no, no. The naked skin and privacy are a big part of this “Babymoon” formula. Don’t modify. Probably, when you read this, you thought “This would be a luxury for a new mother.” It’s actually very basic and pays huge dividends for the family and larger community. Some cultures understand this and make sure the new mother is given a 40 day period of rest/care when she has a baby.

"My personal experience is that ALL post birth bleeding is remedied by resting in bed. The lochia is red for the first two days, changes to pink and serumy around the third day, and then proceeds to being brownish and quite smelly for about two weeks. If it turns red again after going through the pink and brownish stages, it means the mother is doing too much. She needs to follow the 'BabyMoon' lie-in instructions above. Remember, THIS IS NOT A LUXURY, IT’S BASIC. The family needs to be told that, if they don’t help the mother to rest in bed, they will end up visiting her in hospital.

"We need to give up the notion of supermom. Do whatever it takes to get your rest time after the birth and then you will be back to your busy life sooner. When women have homebirths, they usually feel so well that they want to get up and 'prove' to the world that they can do anything. ... The really smart women don’t even get dressed for weeks after the birth. If you’re all perky in a track suit, people will expect you to run . . . therefore, find the nastiest old nightie possible and wear that to convince family and friends that you need their assistance."

If it works for cows, it could work for human mothers, too! According to the ABC News article "The Moozart Effect" 700 dairy cows on a dairy farm in Spain have shown major positive improvement in their milk production and quality simply by listening to Mozart.

Here's the story: "Believe it or not, since sending Mozart's [music] soaring through their stalls at milking time, Sieber has seen a dramatic shift in the temperament and production of his Daisys and Besses. Now his herd quietly lines up to be milked, seeming not to mind the poking and prodding that comes with being a dairy cow, and, most notably, producing anywhere from 1 to 6 more liters [quarts] of milk per day than their non-Mozart listening counterparts. ... Not only do these now blissful bovines produce more milk, but, as it turns out, their milk has higher levels of healthy fats and proteins and, according to the farm, a sweeter taste. Now, that's music to everyone's ears."

Perhaps listening to Mozart contributes to higher levels of oxytocin and prolactin production by calming a woman (or in this case, a heifer), thus leading to more milk. We know that classical music releases dopamine (the "feel good" reward hormone) in the brain, so it would make sense that it could affect the breastfeeding hormones as well.

Here's the exact piece of music that the dairy farmer plays, in case you want to give it a listen next time you sit down to breastfeed.

"Did you ever think, when you hear your baby rouse at 2:00am, that they are actually giving you the gift of MORE sleep, lowering your postpartum depression risk, building and developing their brains, possibly reducing their risk for long-term mood disorders, developing their own circadian cycles, getting more milk when your supply is highest, ensuring your long-term breastmilk supply, AND giving you an opportunity to pump less at work?" To read more about why these encouraging facts are possible, check out 5 Cool Things No One Ever Told You About NIghttime Breastfeeding.

Melanie Ellison, Durango CO

Childbirth fascinates me, and I always love learning more tidbits about it and sharing them with you. I also post photo galleries here from my photoshoots. Sign up for the RSS feed below so you don't miss a post!